We see that FELT counts the same cards as REKO. But it counts 3-6 as +2, and ten and ace as -2. 2 and 7 are still counted as +1. Effects of Removal were discussed in the last chapter. Simply put, they are the relative value of the cards in Blackjack. FELT has an advantage over REKO in that the FELT tag values more closely estimate the EORs and therefore, more accurately estimate advantage. A much deeper discussion on different counting strategies can be found in the Counting Strategies Comparison chapter. The disadvantage is that keeping a running count is more difficult when adding or subtracting two than merely incrementing or decrementing by one.

There exists one advantage in simplicity. FELT is a balanced strategy and REKO is an unbalanced strategy. In REKO, the sum of tag values does not add to zero. They add to 24 in a six-deck game. The values add to zero in FELT. This means that FELT will have a narrower range of counts, from the lowest to highest running count you will experience, which is easier to handle.

FELT Card Tag Values

Initial Running Count

In REKO, we started counting after a shuffle with different numbers depending on the number of decks. Another simplicity with balanced counts like FELT is that the Initial Running Count is always zero.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger